Year In Review – Asking the 3 Important Questions

by Cindy on December 1, 2009

As we come to the close of 2009 we look ahead to the holiday season and for our businesses the beginning of a new year. What questions are you asking?

For a small business we don’t generally have board meetings, year end reviews and the like to add structure and ask the important questions when coming to the year end. So here we have a list of three simple questions you should be asking now and drafting plans to have business direction in 2010.

What have we done right?

In this past year what processes, plans, marketing, etc have you implemented which were right for your business? What does right mean… right in this definition is that make a positive impact in your business; produced more leads, customers, provided better service to existing customers.

What have we done that was not right?

Of course, question one leads to question 2. If it wasn’t right, then it did not work as expected, did not make a positive impact. Why did it not produce the expected results, what changes were needed in the plan that would have produced the expected results?

What could we have done better?

Again, #1 leads to #2 and then to #3. If something fell into question number 2 then it flows into this question… how could it have been done better. But guess what, even if something was done right it could still flow here… how can you do it better? If it worked, how could it work better.

This could be the hardest of the three questions as we get caught up in the everyday tasks of running our businesses and tend to get stuck in a rut. Reviewing your business and marketing plans and processes can be time consuming but if you stay with the status quo you will be missing out on new opportunities.

Asking these three simple questions will give you the information you need to draft your 2010 business strategies. You can then make your plans to implement those new processes and plans to improve and grow your business in the new year.

If your time does not allow a full review of your business consider looking for help. A Virtual Assistant who has expertise in operations, marketing and business management can assist you. That person can review all three questions with you and provide an “outside” perspective to give you new ideas to consider, implement and grow your business.

From all indications, 2010 will not be the miracle year which brings the world economies back to pre-recession highs so you must do whatever it takes to manage and yes, grow your business during challenging times.